The Wheelchair She Named

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill was on MSDNC (or whatever the network calls itself after decoupling from NBC News) talking about the planned military firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan. She said this:

"The thing that just keeps breaking my heart: imagine the 20-year-old, maybe the 18-year-old that stepped up to serve, that gets orders and says, you’re going to go shoot this guy who’s in a wheelchair."

Michael Steele nodded. Steele is a Republican, and a never-Trumper, though that is secondary. The stare looked intense. I wanted to believe he had already checked out by the time she finished.

NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill on the execution of Nidal Hasan: "The thing that just keeps breaking my heart: imagine the 20-year-old, maybe the 18-year-old that stepped up to serve, that gets orders and says, you’re going to go shoot this guy who’s in a wheelchair." https://t.co/6WdVnDjvTt

— Ezydu (@ezradulis) October 17, 2026

Hasan is the Army psychiatrist who walked into the readiness processing center at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, shouted “Allahu akbar,” and opened fire. Thirteen people were killed. More than thirty were wounded. He has been paralyzed from the waist down since the police shot him to stop the attack. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2013. The appellate process finished. President Trump approved the sentence this month. The Army set December 3 at Fort Hood. There was discussion of livestreaming his execution; that part was walked back.

One of the thirteen was Private Francheska Velez, 21, from Chicago. She had just returned from Iraq. She was pregnant. Witnesses heard her crying “My baby! My baby!” as she was shot. The unborn child died with her.

h/t Newsalert

Blue States Need the Dream

You may have seen my two recent posts on the Illinois gubernatorial race. One asked whether the only televised forum between Governor Pritzker and Darren Bailey would move anyone who hasn’t already voted. The other was about what a solid opposition actually looks like in a state that has grown used to one-party rule. My point in covering it is simple: Illinois needs an opposition party that can win. As PBD has said about candidates running for president, the opposition still has to sell the dream.

California is another state in the same position. Steve Hilton finished second in the top-two primary and is the Republican nominee against Xavier Becerra. He has spent months making the case that the state can be more affordable and better governed. Polls still show him trailing by a wide margin. The election is unlikely to go his way.

Now we arrive at New York. Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul is running for another term against Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. If I am reading people like Bill O’Reilly correctly, Blakeman has a realistic shot at knocking off the incumbent.

Here are some highlights via NY Post: [VIDEO]

The exchanges are mostly about utility bills, sanctuary policies, spending on migrants, and Hochul’s attempts to tie Blakeman to President Trump. Blakeman’s side of the argument is that she has been governor for five years and the results are hers. Hochul’s side is that the alternative is Trump-style leadership.

Bailey Interrupted. Pritzker Stayed Cool

I had the chance to watch Tuesday’s WTTW-TV Illinois gubernatorial forum in its entirety. The original post with the full video is here: Will the Forum Move the Needle. At this time it has not caused me to move the needle on whether I am enthusiastic about a third term for Governor Pritzker or whether Darren Bailey should have his turn. I am guessing it has not moved the needle for anyone else either.

Credit: Chicago Sun-Times

Will the Forum Move the Needle

I wasn’t able to watch the Tuesday gubernatorial forum between incumbent Governor JB Pritzker and GOP challenger Darren Bailey. It aired on WTTW Chicago, our local PBS affiliate. I’m not giving much of an opinion until I watch it.

You can watch the forum here [VIDEO]

I’ve already said where I believe this race is headed in November. Early voting in Illinois began in late September—some collar counties opened sites on September 24, Chicago’s downtown supersites on October 1, and suburban Cook on October 7. The question now is narrower: does this forum change the mind of any voter who hasn’t already cast a ballot?

Noted further is the absence of independent candidate Collin Corbett.

I had been keenly interested in races outside Illinois, especially California. I couldn’t find the full CNN debate between GOP candidate Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former cabinet secretary. Regardless, it is important to keep my focus on home.

Not a Comment on the Opposition #twill

I was asked by a relative to try to predict the midterms. In 2024 it was easier to say Vice President Kam-A-la Harris would get her clock cleaned by President Donald Trump. Even then it was not fully assured. This time is harder.

Both sides have put up candidates I would not send.

In Texas the Senate race is James Talarico aka "Talafreako" against Ken Paxton. Texas is not a purple state that wandered. It is a red state, and Paxton is still not clear of Talarico. September polls had the Democrat ahead or tied. A New York Times/Siena survey in June had them even at 47. That is the tell. Paxton carries the baggage. Talarico is a strange fit for the state he is asking to send him.

He is a Presbyterian seminarian who told the Texas House, in 2021, that God is non-binary, and that trans children are made in God's image. He has said other traditions circle the same truth. I am not grading his theology. I am saying a candidate who talks that way is asking Texas to ignore what it has been. Democrats may still vote for him. A lot of them cannot bring themselves to vote for a Republican, especially one aligned with Donald Trump.

The same pattern shows up with Democratic Socialists of America candidates who have won House seats. I would not call them strong candidates. They have a leg up anyway. Democrats who are not socialists will often take the socialist over the Republican.

Allow me to bring this conversation home to Illinois. 

My read on the Illinois races I have looked at in September is that Democrats keep the governor's mansion and the Senate seat Dick Durbin is leaving. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton against former state party chair Don Tracy. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, running for a third term, against Darren Bailey again.

If there was a seat people could call winnable, it was Durbin's. I am saying winnable. I am not saying Republicans win it. A Public Policy Polling survey taken September 30 and October 1 had Stratton at 49 and Tracy at 36. The same poll had Pritzker at 54 and Bailey at 34, with independent Collin Corbett at 6. The Senate gap is the smaller one. Smaller is not small.

Then came Monday. Via CapitolFax.

Illinois Looks Settled

The governor’s race already looks settled. They are selling Durbin’s seat the same way.

March 17 named the tickets. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won the Democratic nomination with 40.4 percent. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi took 32.7. Rep. Robin Kelly took 18.3. Former Illinois Republican Party chair Don Tracy won his primary with 40 percent over attorney Jeannie Evans at 22.8. The general is November 3.

They have sat for television. They have not sat together.

You can read my blog on the 2026 Illinois governor’s race here.

Illinois Still Looks Settled

I wanted to get into these videos on the Illinois governor’s race. JB Pritzker is seeking a third term. His Republican opponent is the same man from 2022, Darren Bailey, running this time with Cook County Republican Aaron Del Mar. Given that Illinois is a solid blue state, the Republicans have a very steep climb in 2026.

The first clip is Del Mar. FOX 32 got a recording of comments he made about George Floyd. He sat down with political reporter Brandon Pope to answer them.

Watch it here [VIDEO]

Jesse Watters Primetime: El-Sayed’s First Trip into the Lion’s Den

Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive Democrat who narrowly won Michigan’s Senate primary earlier this month, sat down Monday night for what appears to be his first appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime. The setting was deliberate. El-Sayed is now the nominee in a pure toss-up race against former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, a Trump-aligned candidate for the open seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters. Polls remain tight—RealClearPolitics averages show El-Sayed up by less than a point, with individual surveys scattering in both directions—and the contest could help decide control of the Senate.

El-Sayed used the interview to test how his message travels outside the progressive primary electorate. He also made sure to land a few direct shots at Rogers for dodging debates and avoiding the same Fox stage.

Here’s the full segment: [VIDEO]

Watters opened by pressing El-Sayed on abolishing ICE, a wealth tax on fortunes above $100 million, Medicare for All, the ongoing conflict with Iran, biological males in women’s sports, medical decisions involving minors, and past comments about Sharia law. El-Sayed repeatedly tried to redirect toward gas prices, grocery costs, and health-care affordability, arguing those are the issues Michigan voters actually raise. He defended his progressive economic positions while framing many of the cultural questions as distractions.

Far Left Wins Primary. Florida Stays Red.

 Last Friday I wrote about the Florida primaries and Angie Nixon’s upset: Florida Primaries: Red State, Pink Megaphone.

This short Valuetainment clip frames the same result as evidence that “the far left is winning”: [VIDEO]

Florida Primaries: Red State, Pink Megaphone

I didn’t follow the recent Florida primaries closely. Among other races, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination for governor with about 48 percent in a crowded field. President Trump endorsed him early. Donalds is a Black Republican. If he wins in November, he would be the first Black Republican elected governor in American history. (During Reconstruction, P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana, a Republican, served briefly as acting governor after the sitting governor was impeached.) Florida is no longer a swing state. He is the heavy favorite against Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched parties.

He’s not the only Black Republican with a real shot this cycle. In Michigan, John James won the GOP nomination for governor. Michigan is more of a blue state than Florida, so his path is harder, but it’s a race worth watching.

What conservatives have been talking about this week is the Democratic Senate primary. This is a special election for the remainder of Marco Rubio’s term after he became Secretary of State. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed former Attorney General Ashley Moody to the seat in January 2025. State Rep. Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat who joined the Democratic Socialists of America during the campaign, beat the well-funded former Army officer and national-security official Alexander Vindman. Vindman outraised her by a huge margin—roughly $16 million to under $1 million—and still lost. That tells you where the energy is on the Democratic side right now.

I’ve seen enough of Nixon’s clips to be tired of the act. Since the primary she’s tried to sound a little more moderate in interviews. So far it looks thin. Florida being as red as it is, she still has an uphill climb against Moody. Beating a better-funded, more “electable” candidate anyway shows the direction of the party’s base.

Nixon is not new to theatrical protest. In April, during the House vote on DeSantis’s mid-decade congressional maps, she marched the floor in a hot-pink jumpsuit with a matching pink bullhorn, shouting that the maps were “illegal” and a “violation of the Constitution.” The vote still passed 83-28. The House later reprimanded her. She and colleagues did a similar floor sit-in in 2022. Here’s one of the April clips: Fox News.

On Vindman: He was the National Security Council’s Ukraine director. He listened to the July 25, 2019, Trump-Zelensky call and later testified that Trump had improperly asked Ukraine to investigate the Bidens (and Burisma) in connection with a White House meeting and military aid. Vindman reported the call internally as improper; he brought his twin brother, Yevgeny (Eugene) Vindman, an NSC lawyer, along when he went to the NSC’s top counsel. Alexander became a central witness in the first impeachment. After the Senate acquitted Trump, both brothers were removed from the White House in February 2020. Eugene later won a House seat in Virginia in 2024.

Here's a report from FOX 35 Orlando [VIDEO]

O’Reilly Takes On Ossoff’s Iran Speech

 Bill O’Reilly’s latest No Spin clip is short, pointed, and worth watching. [VIDEO]

What Happened in Wisconsin?

 Bill O’Reilly breaks down the Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor.

Watch it here: [VIDEO]

Confessions of a DSA Defector

Former Democratic Socialists of America organizer Jake Altman sat down with The Free Press for a clear-eyed look at how the group changed.

Watch the interview: [VIDEO]

Ben Shapiro on the Democratic Civil War Getting Ugly

 Ben Shapiro’s latest episode zeroes in on the mess inside the Democratic Party right now. The title is direct: “The Democratic Civil War Is Getting Ugly.” It lands at a moment when the party’s internal fractures are no longer subtle.

Watch it here: [VIDEO]

The core of the piece is straightforward. The Democratic National Committee is broke—roughly $2 million in debt while the RNC sits on well over $100 million. Party leaders have resorted to asking vendors not to send bills until after the midterms. Ken Martin, the DNC chair, reportedly threw his phone at a junior aide’s desk in frustration. Donors with money are routing it around the party apparatus to candidates and outside groups. The institutional center is hollowed out.

Into that vacuum steps the Democratic Socialists of America and their orbit. Shapiro treats this as more than ordinary factional fighting. The DSA is not simply pushing the party left; it is advancing a different theory of what the country should become. Moderates like Pete Buttigieg urge the party to talk about what it is for rather than attack the radicals. Rahm Emanuel warns that the Bernie-wing nominees saddle Democrats in swing districts with positions that make general elections harder. Bernie Sanders fires back that the establishment is defending a status quo voters have already rejected.

The clearest proxy fight right now is the Michigan Senate primary. Gretchen Whitmer has endorsed Congresswoman Haley Stevens against Abdul El-Sayed. Stevens is already well to the left by national standards, yet she is treated as insufficiently pure—especially on Israel. El-Sayed carries the progressive energy, the DSA-adjacent endorsements, and a record that includes positions Shapiro flags as far outside the mainstream. Polls and prediction markets are telling different stories. The outcome will signal how far the party is willing to go in safe or lean-Democratic territory.

This is the same dynamic the blog has been tracking for weeks: the DSA’s willingness to treat American institutions as obstacles rather than inheritance, the reluctance of institutional Democrats to draw hard lines, and the practical consequences when the loudest energy in a party sits well outside the median voter. Parties that cannot resolve their internal arguments about first principles tend to lose the ability to govern or even to campaign effectively.

Shapiro’s framing is that the civil war is real and that the radicals are currently better organized and more motivated. Whether the institutional side can still impose discipline in places that matter for the 2026 map remains an open question. The Michigan primary is one early test. There will be others.

Why Democrats Fear the Socialist Wave in Wisconsin

The Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor isn't just messy—it's a national bellwether. As Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez's campaign imploded in a finance scandal and moderates scramble, democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong is riding a wave of genuine enthusiasm. This isn't isolated. Across the country in 2026, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed candidates are scoring wins and forcing the party to confront where its real grassroots energy lives.

Source: muberr.com

Nate Silver: U.S. Patriotism Falls Behind

Nate Silver posted some eye-opening polling data right before the July 4th holiday. The takeaway? American patriotism has declined sharply and now sits below the global average. As the fireworks fade and we move into the week after Independence Day, the numbers deserve a closer look — especially with the country’s 250th anniversary on the horizon.

The Global Picture

The United States used to stand out for its strong national pride. In the 1980s, about 95% of Americans described themselves as “very” or “quite” proud of their nationality — significantly higher than most other regions.

By 2022, that figure had dropped to 78%. Many parts of the world maintained higher levels: Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East generally stayed in the 85–90% range. In a ranking of large and OECD countries, the U.S. now ranks around 34th out of 45.

The first chart shared by Silver shows the U.S. line trending steadily downward while other regions held steady or improved.

Obviously, some of this is partisan, with the Democratic numbers having fallen far more. Though independents are actually closer to Democrats on this issue than the GOP. pic.twitter.com/lV9bjtidDc

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 3, 2026

h/t Newsalert

Big Night for Democratic Socialists in New York

 Last night’s Democratic primaries in New York City delivered clear momentum for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Three high-profile congressional races saw Mamdani- and DSA-aligned candidates prevail, building directly on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 upset victory and signaling a more organized push from the party’s left flank into federal office.

Democratic Socialists of America Flag via Amazon

These weren’t fringe races. They took place in safely Democratic districts where the primary winner is all but guaranteed a seat in Congress come November. The results add fresh energy (and some tension) to the national conversation about where the Democratic Party is headed heading into the 2026 midterms.

The Key Wins

NY-7 (Brooklyn-Queens area): State Assemblymember Claire Valdez, a DSA member and union organizer endorsed by Mayor Mamdani, defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and other challengers. She captured roughly 56-58% of the vote in a race framed as a test of DSA organizational strength versus more institutional progressive politics.

NY-10: Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, backed by Mamdani, ousted two-term Rep. Dan Goldman in a strong progressive showing (around 66% to 34%).

NY-13 (Upper Manhattan and the Bronx): Community organizer and DSA member Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat. Early results showed her edging out the veteran congressman in a contest that highlighted divides over issues like housing, policing, and foreign policy.

These victories are part of a broader DSA/Mamdani slate performance in New York, with multiple endorsed candidates advancing or winning across congressional, state assembly, and local races. Mamdani’s volunteer network and brand appear to have transferred real power in these low-turnout primaries.

CNN Poll: 47% of Americans Now Identify as Independents

A new CNN poll from May 2026 delivers a clear message about the state of American politics heading into the midterms: a growing number of people are rejecting both major parties.

According to the survey, 47% of Americans now consider themselves political independents. That's the highest level CNN polling has recorded in more than 10 years. Democrats sit at 27% and Republicans at 26%.

Democrats’ Strategy vs. Black Representation: The Root and IL-4

I rarely turn to The Root as a primary source for my blog, but this recent IG post caught my eye and led me down a worthwhile path. It aligns perfectly with something I’ve been meaning to explore: the ongoing battles over “majority-minority” districts and how recent court rulings are reshaping them.

The Root IG

Newt Gingrich on Pod Force One discussing Trump, Iran, Bill Clinton's impeachment and breaking the modern left

Note: This post was written with the assistance of AI.

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In a recent episode of Miranda Devine’s Pod Force One, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich delivered a characteristically sharp and historically grounded analysis of where American politics stands in mid-2026. With Donald Trump back in the White House and the nation engaged in conflict with Iran, Gingrich laid out a high-stakes vision for the upcoming midterms and the deeper ideological battle facing the country.

Here are the core insights from Gingrich’s appearance, condensed and organized for clarity.